“To save Liam,” she told him. “She was hoping you’d think both she and Liam died in the fire and I could raise him. Give him a normal childhood.”

“He’s not a normal child,” Stephen said at once.

“He is,” she assured him. “If you’ve been watching us in Port Henry you must have seen him playing outside with the other kids, building snowmen, making snow angels, tobogganing.”

“I saw the tobogganing,” he acknowledged reluctantly. “He seemed . . . happy.”

“He is happy,” she assured him. “He drinks bagged blood, but otherwise he’s as normal as you were as a boy. He has friends, he plays, he even had a sleepover with the other kids. His life can be normal with me,” she said pleadingly. “What will it be like if you and Abaddon get him?”

Stephen shook his head, his expression a combination of anger and upset. “You’re asking me to choose between my son and my life mate.” Meeting her gaze, he said helplessly, “I can’t do that.”

“You already have,” Allie said wearily. “Stella sacrificed herself for Liam, but you’re sacrificing Liam for Abaddon.” Shaking her head, she muttered, “At least, my mother killed herself rather than make the choice. You’re just going to stand by and watch Abaddon ruin your son and, of course, reap the benefits of hot life mate sex while he does.”

“Shut up,” Stephen snapped, his hand clenching on the lantern. “I doubt you could choose either were you in my position.”

“I would never sacrifice Liam for—” Allie cut herself off at the last moment before saying Magnus’s name, and then began to frown as she stared at Stephen. He was almost holding his breath in anticipation. And then she recalled the conversation she’d heard when she first woke up. The man she’d heard telling Abaddon what had happened at the house hadn’t sounded anything like the tortured man in front of her now. There had been no guilt at what he’d done, just frustration that he hadn’t succeeded in beheading Drina, and a certain disgust every time he’d referred to Allie as the human. As if her status as a human made her less somehow.

Stephen was playing her, Allie realized with amazement. This whole conversation was an effort to get her to reveal her life mate’s name.

“So did the turn drive you insane and ruin you? Or have you always been this nasty shit underneath and managed to hide it from Stella?” she asked suddenly.

The tortured expression slipped from his face at once, and Stephen smiled wryly. “I almost had you. You almost gave up his name.”

“Yes,” she agreed, but suddenly just felt tired. For a bit there Allie had hoped she might convince him to let Liam go. But that wasn’t going to happen, she acknowledged, and then raised her head, unable to resist asking, “Do you even care that you drove Stella to kill herself? Did you ever love her?”